The Final Battle
by KiraKeybladeMaster
Summary: Sequel to The Way Its Supposed to Be. Near's dead, Mikami is soon to follow. Light's victory is all but assured...yeah right. The last of the Wammy Orphans seek revenge, each with a Death Note of their own. Maybe Kira will win this one...
1. Chapter 1

**The Final Battle**

Sequel to "The Way it's Supposed to Be"

**Chapter 1: Exposure**

Light continued his crazed fit of laughter. In the other room, Misa briefly wondered what was making Light so happy before turning up the TV's volume.

The excited crowd had broken down the doors of the orphanage and rushed in. The reporter continued, "The rioters have just forced open the doors and gone inside. If you are just tuning in, Kira himself has sent the address to NHN for us to broadcast as the location of an outpost against Kira."

Ryuk began to cackle again. Apparently the confrontation with Near earlier had him riled up. Light stood. "Ryuk, today marks a new day." The Shiniagami looked at him with his wide grin. "The reign of Kira begins anew." Light picked up an apple from a basket on the desk and offered it to Ryuk, who accepted it hungrily.

The TV suddenly cut out. Light looked at it strangely and made to turn it off when the transmission was restored to a nervous looking man. He was sitting in front of the camera and holding a sheet of paper. He looked to be middle-aged and of Japanese decent. His eyes darted around in paranoia and he started to speak. "My name is Jet Nagisa and what I am about to tell you is the truth about Kira. I have successfully hacked the NHN satellite to bring this evidence to light." He paused for about half a minute, wiping away sweat from his soaked face. He began again. "Kira is no god and is using a dea-." The man suddenly grabbed his chest. His face twisted in agony, and he fell straight toward the view of the camera.

Light was stunned. Had this man almost said Death Note? _Good. Mikami got him before things went out of hand. But__ how did he find out about the Death Note? Would Mikami betray me?__No, he wouldn't. He wouldn't have killed Nagisa if he had._ Ryuk continued to munch on his apple and looked at the young man with mild interest. "Something wrong, Light?" he teased. The TV had reverted to snow before coming in again. This time, there sat a person wearing a mask. With a sudden realization, Light remembered that Near had worn the exact same mask in the warehouse. An L mask. He wore all black: jeans, long-sleeved shirt. In his lap sat a red book. He began to clap slowly. "Well done Kira, well done! Another stunning display of your might!" He lowered his hands. Light guessed him to be 17 or 18 from his voice. "As the viewers can all see, Kira's power is indeed real. There is something, however, that your god seems to have conveniently forgotten to tell you." He paused, perhaps to let the statement sink in, and pulled a pen out of his pant pocket. He opened the notebook in his lap and wrote in it. _Could that be…?! _

He finished writing and held up the notebook. It was blank except for a name scrawled in large letters across one of the pages. Light recognized it as the name of the NHN reporter that had been on only minutes before. The picture automatically went back to the NHN station where the reporter was saying, "…to be experiencing some technical difficulties at the moment so…" Light leaned in towards the TV, eyes fixed on the screen in anticipation. Ryuk, who had finished his apple, laughed. "No rest, huh Light?"

_It can't be a Death Note. That notebook is red. It can't be the real thing. But if they didn't have something to show, they wouldn't have attempted something like this. _Somehow, someone else had gotten their hands on a Death Note; that much was clear from the kid's little speech. Several possibilities rushed through his mind: was this guy about to reveal the existence of Death Notes? Was he simply trying to get in contact with Light by spouting seemingly useless information on TV? Light looked at his watch. "36…37…38…39…"

The next second, the reporter fell dead. Light was dumbstruck. _But that's impossible! There's no way. This is bad; if the world finds out about the notebook, things could go very wrong. _Ryuk laughed at Kira's expression.

The guy wearing the L mask was back. "Death by heart attack, the power of Kira." He held up the notebook. "This is known as a Death Note. The human whose name is written in this note shall die. All one requires to use it is the name and face of their victim. The instrument of Kira, himself.

"There are currently seven Death Notes in the world," he continued.

_Seven?!_

"Two are owned by Kira and five are under my control. My name is Pride, and if you are man enough, face me Kira. I challenge you to see who can catch who first. But remember, I'm not as soft as L or Near. When I find out who you are, I will kill you. Ta-ta!" The TV immediately switched back to NHN where a newscaster was talking rapidly, but he held no interest for Light, who switched it off.

* * *

A/N: Here's another revision of a chapter with the help of Ohka Breynekai. In the next chap, we'll finally meet the members of the KOF(Kira Opposition Force) andhear Light's plan to eliminate. Until next time, later! 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Okay we're back for the all new chapter of the final battle. Sorry I lied about the quick update but this one was for some reason it was harder to write for me (try writing a DN fic sometime!). Remember, your criticism and questions are always welcome, so review. Now, on with the story!

**Chapter 2: Last of the Ls**

"How was that, Liror?" Pride spun his chair around to face the Shinigami behind him. Its face was a skull with empty eye sockets and razor sharp teeth. The body was the muscular build of a human with red flesh; he wore a cloak with the hood up. Liror was slouched over as he stood before Pride.

"Was that really necessary? The human world will be in uproar soon." He asked as Pride removed his mask and threw it to the side.

The boy just laughed, "Yes. Your right, there will be an uproar. But all that is necessary to ensure that Kira's eyes are definitely on me now. Now we are ready to put my plan into action. Soon the world will be against Kira completely." He moved over to a wall completely covered by computers and other equipment and sat in the spinning chair in front of it all.

"We just asked you to get rid of Kira, not reveal the existence of the Death Notes to every human on the planet." Liror said walking over to stand behind Pride.

"Every Wammy orphan to go after Kira has wound up dead so it's time we redeem our bad name. Now, to blow Kira out of the water. Where are the others?" Right on time, there was a knock on the door and five people filed into the room one after the other. Three of them were followed by a Shinigami.

Pride didn't even turn to greet them. Instead he played with his black hair, "Is everyone here?" the seventeen year old asked. Two of the shorter orphans removed their masks which symbolized drama and comedy (one side sad, the other happy except both had a mask that had the same two sides but in different orders), one a boy and the other a girl, "Yep yep!" they replied in unison. Both had a Shinigami the boy had a female and his twin had a male.

One of the occupants of the room took off a jaguar mask. Underneath was the face of a dark-skinned girl. The seventeen year old smiled, "Greed and Envy have been hyper all day. Their teeth are going to rot out if all they ever eat is candy." At that moment her cell phone went off. Everyone except Pride looked at her. Pride covered his eyes with his hand, "Lust, I thought I told you to stay inside until we had a plan." He said, before nibbling on his thumb.

Lust flipped open her phone, the Shinigami behind her giggled at what he saw on the screen. She turned it off and closed it, "Being all cooped up may be your style but it's not mine." Lust snapped, "Our photos have been destroyed and no one can find our names. We have the advantage over Wrath."

Pride turned to look at the twins who stood smiling at him. He drew his legs up into his chair L-style. "While it may be true that our names can't be seen by Kira…Envy, Greed, can you see my life span?" Both shook their heads still grinning, the boy whispered into his sister's ear, both gave an excited screech and ran over to the man laying in front of the TV camera.. "What about Gluttony? Can you see his?" For the first time, everyone's attention was shifted to a chubby boy who sat on the floor with his hand in a potato chip bag, completely oblivious to the rest of the group. His red, one-eyed demon mask lay a short way away. He, unlike the others, had no Shinigami. The twins both nodded and then went back to moving the dead man's arms around wildly.

"He may not have much longer if he keeps eating like that." Pride commented. "The whole strategy behind having the twins make the eye trade is that they are ten and the youngest of us. They most likely, have the longest time to live." He explained, "What the Shinigami have told us is true, even with the Shinigami Eyes, you can't see the life span of a human with a Death Note. This means we must avoid appearing on TV or being caught on camera. I would also be wise to stay away from well populated areas."

"I thought you said Wrath couldn't see our life spans." Lust said crossing her arms. There was the sound of a bag being balled up then Gluttony stood up with much effort. He cleared his voice, "He means the second Kira, second Wrath, whatever. Clearly the original is infatuated with the thought of being the god of his new world. He would want to live as long as possible to maintain rule for several years. The only way to do so and have the ability to see his enemies' names is to have someone else make the trade. The only one to make the trade was the second Kira."

"First things first." Pride said looking at them all, "Who has made the trade?" The twins raised their hands. The only other person clutched his notebook to the chest of his black trench coat with one hand and raised the other. "Sloth too?" The one called Sloth nodded his greasy head of long, black hair.

"This can be used to our advantage. Gluttony, are you willing to do the trade?" Pride asked.

"And WHO'S Death Note will he use to do it?" Lust demanded, already knowing the answer.

"I thought that would be obvious. We need one more person willing to give up half their lifespan to take down Kira. Unless you are able to do that, I ask that you please pass ownership to Gluttony." Pride finished, and turned back to his computer.

"I'll do it." Lust turned angrily to the fat boy as he went on quietly. "I know how important getting Kira is to Pride. I'll help any way I can."

"You don't have to do it. It was only a possible strategy; I shouldn't have included you all in my own personal fight." Pride turned back to them all with a mournful expression. "If any of you are afraid to die, then I urge you to leave. I only ask that you leave your Death Note, if you don't, I cannot guarantee your safety."

Gluttony shook his head, "I've been friends with you for as long as I can remember. I knew the risks when I offered my help. I'll stick with you to the end, who's with me?"

The twins nodded enthusiastically while Sloth muttered an agreement. Lust looked resentful before sighing harshly and growling, "Fine! He can have it, but I'm keeping a few pages for myself."

"Then, I'm correct in assuming you have already used the Death Note?" Pride asked.

"Shut up know-it-all!"

Pride smiled wryly, "Yes, we already know from the Shinigami that if you give up the Death Note after having used it at least once, you will lose all memories pertaining to the Death Note. It's only natural that you would keep a few pages for yourself. However…" Pride's smile disappeared, "I would like you to keep as many as fifty pages in case the notebook is somehow taken. The chances of this happening are very slim, but it is a possibility. Preparations need to made. Sloth will make the first move, are you ready to move?"

Sloth nodded, "Yes."

Pride also nodded his head, "We need to move base within the next few days to ensure we are not found. The fact that Lust has been outside makes me nervous. We leave tomorrow. Sloth and Gluttony will leave immediately after this to arrive in Japan as planned. Sloth knows what to do to prevent the notebook from falling into the wrong hands seeing as he will have the most dangerous role in the plan. Worst case scenario, he dies in two days and the notebook is taken."

The twins' dropped the body and their eyes got big and watery. Pride and Gluttony lowered their eyes. '_I would have avoided this if I could but this is the only plan I have for now and Sloth volunteered in the first place._' Pride thought. "If things go as I predicted, there is a 65 percent chance that you will die. This being the case, I'll ask again, are you sure this is what you want to do?"

Sloth's reply was another nod. Pride stared at him carefully, "Fine, then move out. If things go accordingly, most of the world will be against Kira soon. Let's do it, for my brother…for L."

* * *

Later that day, Light and Misa checked out of the hotel and arrived back at their apartment. Light was quiet the whole trip but Misa was content with the closeness of him. She asked Light what was bothering him but he never responded to Misa's questions so she gave up altogether and snuggled close to him. Ryuk followed close behind their taxi snickering while Misa clung to the object of her affection.

The news about the events that had unfolded earlier in the day was everywhere. Most, if not all, of the news TV stations were playing specials about the secret that was released on air at NHN. Of course on the net debates were being held in chat rooms about what to make of it all. Some thought it was all a hoax; others, anonymously of course, stated firmly that Kira still stood for justice and deserved to be backed for everything he had done for the world.

Sites were popping up all over the internet selling the "killer notebooks" for outrageous prices, but all this was to be expected. "DAMN IT!" Light pounded on his desk as soon as Misa went out. Ryuk jumped in surprise, "He…hey Light…"

"WHAT?" Light turned to face Ryuk; he wore the same expression he had when he had been 'humiliated' by L the first time.

"Sor-sorry."

"Damn, this ruins everything! How did he get _five_ Death Notes? Do you understand how serious this is?" Light asked angrily.

"N-no." Ryuk said, still a little scared.

"They could completely destroy Kira's good image!" Light leaned back in his chair, "I've got to get rid of this threat before they try it. I'm a little wary of contacting the leader of any powerful nation for help on this. Top officials all over the world are afraid of being killed so publicly they will support Kira, but while they say they support Kira on the surface, they will be trying to get rid of me so they can have the notebooks for themselves. If any nation gained control of at least one of them, it would have a substantial advantage over all others. This isn't only about killing criminals anymore. This is about taking the notebooks for myself."

"If I try to contact someone like the president of America, the most I can hope for is a deal in which he will ask for one of the notebooks in exchange for his help. I can't completely ignore the fact that Pride may make the same deal with the person I contact." Light seemed completely calm after having explained all this and Ryuk was relieved by this.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked.

"If I were Pride, I would first gain some allies that would do the eye trade in my place. This means I'll have to give up one of the notebooks to keep up."

"You're going to use Misa again?" Ryuk asked a little surprised.

"Really, Ryuk, I thought you were a little smarter than that. Misa is still well-known in this region. If I use her again, there's the chance she will be seen by a person who has made the trade for Pride. I'll have to use someone else this time. I've prepared a list of candidates for just such an occasion."

Light pulled up a file on his computer while Ryuk watched. In it were several pages of the surveys like the one Mikami filled out. Light took particular interest in one. "This one reminds me a lot of myself." He pulled up another file. "This is research I did to get a better idea of who he was. It really surprised me. What do you think Ryuk?"

Ryuk looked at the page. After a minute he laughed and said, "I can see why: seventeen-year-old senior in high school, hopes to work in the police force, top scorer in the nation and…is that him?"

"Yes."

"He looks a lot like you!" Ryuk laughed, "But isn't he American?" he asked.

"He's a foreign exchange student. It says he was adopted by the hosting Japanese family after his parents were murdered a year ago. His answers to some of the survey questions hint at a strong sense of justice. I'll use him" Light said. "If he is who I think he is, he'll be an even greater ally than Mikami. I'll send the notebook with the rules written in it so that you'll be the one to possess him, so if I'm right it'll be like old times for you. Do this and I'll give you all the apples you can eat later."

Ryuk's mind boggled, as many as he could eat? "Alright Light, but it won't be cheap!" he said happily, "So when do I leave?"

"Now." Light held out the notebook, "All you need to do is make sure he gets the notebook and knows how to use it."

"Okay, just remember your part of the deal Light." Ryuk took the Death Note walked over to the wall, "Later." and slipped through it as if it wasn't there.

"Let's see what you can do, Sam Pyro." Light said looking at the place where Ryuk disappeared.

A/N: Finally done! Yes! Alright everybody, sorry again about the long wait but this is a really tough story to write. I feel like my mind is having a seizure right now…but that could just be the sugar rush. Anywho, in the next chapter I'll be using one of my own characters. I assure you he won't be someone like me, I'm not smart enough to be top in any nation, trust me, ask my friends! I even had to change his personality for him to appear in the fic so yeah…: P. Also I need a new proof-reader (if you couldn't notice my horrible attempt at the originals' personalities or the grammar mistakes) so if anyone's interested just send me an e-mail saying so. Later!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey, we're back and ready for more DN! I've decided to up the update speed, but don't hold me to it. I'm sorry everybody, but I kinda lied in the last chapter, no freelance chapters in the foreseeable future. From here on out, it's strictly business. Anyways, here's the third installment, enjoy and don't forget to review!

Just a tip: Listening to Death Note theme music makes the story sound so much better. 

**Chapter 3: Deliverance**

"So I'll see you later tonight?" Sam Pyro asked as he and his companion, a black-haired beauty a few inches shorter than he was, stopped in front of his house.

"Yep." She smiled expectantly up at him, her hands behind her back.

Sam began to turn away, "Bye, then."

"Sam!" A playful expression on her face, "Stop teasing me!" Sam smiled and turned back to her. She stood up on her tip-toes to meet his lips as he leaned in. She was about to try deepening the kiss when Sam pulled away. "I'll swing by your place at six and we'll go eat okay, Ginko-chan?" he asked.

"'Kay." Ginko responded with a beam. With that, Sam turned and walked onto the stone steps leading to his house. Ginko watched him go for a few seconds before walking off in the direction of her own home. "Mom must be out shopping." Sam said with a smile when he realized the front door was locked. He reached into his pocket to fish out his key.

Overhead, Ryuk watched his target. "That's him alright. Sam Pyro, black hair, green eyes, but to think he lived _here _of all places." he said with look around. "Light really thought this one through. Well, here goes nothing." Ryuk held out the notebook Light gave him, then loosened his grip on it, and finally let go altogether. The Death Note fell once again into the human world.

Sam finally found the key in his pocket. As soon as the key turned in the lock, Sam heard the grass rustle behind him, as if something had landed there. He turned around and saw a black notebook sitting on his front lawn. In white letters across the front were the words, 'Death Note'.

"Death Note? It couldn't be…" Sam picked it up and stared at the cover, "Death…Note."

* * *

Sam turned on his desk lamp and stared down at the notebook in front of him. '_Death Note, that's what the guy on that broadcast yesterday said. The human whose name is written in this note shall die. Those were all his words. But this can't be real. There's no way._ _What are the chances of me getting a real one? There's also the fact that the notebook on TV was red…_'

He opened the cover to see several scrawled lines written inside. The heading read, 'Death Note', then below that was, 'How to use it'.

"All in English? That's weird." Sam read further, 'The human whose name is written in this note shall die. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind while writing his/her name. Therefore people sharing the same name will not be affected. If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.'

"This is pretty intricate. This would all explain how Kira kills." Sam stood up and went to lay on his bed, "But all this other stuff about causes of death. Everyone knows that Kira can only kill via heart attacks, cardiac arrest. However, if he had the power to control the circumstances of death, he could hide all those deaths he wanted to keep quiet. So…"Sam sat up suddenly, "That's right! He would have the perfect advantage. But if all this was real, how can Kira-?"

"Sam! Come help me with these groceries!" Sam heard his mother yell from the downstairs kitchen. Sam grabbed the notebook on his desk, opened on of the desk drawers, and shoved it inside. "Coming!" he called as he bound down the stairs. He came face to face with his smiling mother, forty-eight year-old Matsuko Kokan. "Hey, how was school today?" She asked as she planted a kiss on his forehead.

"Boring as usual." Sam replied moving to put away the things his mother bought in two brown bags on the dinner table in the middle of the room.

"Keeping those grades up?" she asked.

"Yeah, I've just got finals next month, then the tests for college a few months after that. I'm taking a break from studying tonight, though."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm going out with Ginko." Sam put the last of the groceries into a cabinet and closed it. Turning back to her he added, "We're having dinner so just cook enough for you and Dad."

"He called earlier, he's working late again. He said he wouldn't be able to see you off tomorrow but he wished you a safe journey. Will you be ready to go tomorrow?"

"I almost forgot about that!" Sam exclaimed, and smacked himself in the forehead. "Good thing I packed up for the trip in advance." Sam told her as he made his way to the doorway, "I'll be in my room until it's time for me to go pick up Ginko. Night." He said then, walked out of the room.

"Good night." She called after him, still looking at the doorway he just left through.

* * *

"For me to make sure this is real, I would need to test it." Sam said, staring the notebook down. "If this thing can do what it says it can do, I should avoid killing someone I know… What's wrong with me?" Sam asked himself and massaged his temple, "Believing in something like this is ridiculous. I should be studying." He took a long moment to decide what to do next.

"I'll do this, test out the notebook, then I've gotta get ready to go." Sam flicked on the miniature TV that sat next to his computer. "Ah, NHN. This should be easy."

"It's like I've been saying," the man on the set said to his fellow newscaster beside him, "Kira is no god. He's just some snot-nosed punk trying to play with the big boys. He's just a conniving, spiteful…"

Already, Sam had had enough after about five seconds of hearing the man speak. He was obviously intoxicated; he sat swaying back and forth in his seat, bright red face, continuing his rant against Sam's god. Kira, the man who avenged the deaths of his parents. Kira stood for justice and this…sorry excuse for a human felt the need to criticize the god that had sacrificed so much for the birth of a new world. "No tact at all." Sam spat angrily, ripping the top off of his pen and scribbling furiously into the notebook in front of him, the only thing that offered some hope of ridding Kira's new world of such an incompetent fool.

"Now just forty seconds, right?" Sam whipped out his watch and counted away the seconds, never taking one watchful eye off the screen, the newscaster continued as his partner tried in vain to quiet his squawking. "37…38…39…40!" Sam watched intently. Suddenly, the man stopped rocking and was silenced instantly. His sway was quickly replaced with a very violent shaking. He clutched his chest, and fell forward onto the news desk. The woman beside him clamped a hand to her mouth, eyes opened wide in horror.

For Sam, time stood still. He sat, fixated on the screen, Death Note clutched firmly in his hands. '_Did I just kill someone?_' was the only thought racing through his mind. Then, he finally realized the power of the thing he held in his hands. Sam's view slowly shifted to the black notebook in his hands. '_It works! The Death Note is real!_'

"Nice, huh?" He heard someone behind him speak in a dry rasp. Shaking, he turned slowly to face the one speaking only to come face to face with the Shinigami Ryuk. "Hi!" Ryuk rasped.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" Sam screamed, he leaned back quickly to escape the phantom only to tumble out of his seat to the floor along with the Death Note.

"Hyuk, Hyuk, Hyuk! So you finally used it. Guess he was right, you are a lot like him after all."

"Who…who are you?" Sam asked franticly, using his legs and arms to crawl backward, away from the monster.

'_Light was expecting me, but he had the notebook for five days and this kid just used it for the first time. I shouldn't have expected him to respond as Light did. Oh, well. It's done now._' Ryuk thought, then said to Sam, "Hey kid, relax. I'm not here to hurt you or nothin'. I'm Ryuk, the Shinigami that dropped that notebook. Get up, Sam."

"You know me?" Sam asked from the floor, still a little shaken.

"Yeah, I know you. That's the whole reason you have the notebook in the first place, it's a present from Kira." Ryuk told him, pointing at the Death Note. "It's all yours, use it as you please. Kira sent it so that you could help him. But all that's for later on, for now, just enjoy it for a while." Ryuk chuckled.

"K-kira? He sent it to me?" Sam lost the scared look, for it to be replaced with wonder. "Why would he send me something like this? Does it have to do with that broadcast a few days ago?" Sam stood up unsteadily.

"I told you, that's you all about that later. For now…I want apples." Ryuk said hungrily.

"Eh…apples?" Sam responded with a cocked eye. "I'll get your apples but stay here, someone might see you. The last thing I need is my mom seeing you."

"Oh don't worry about that." Ryuk informed him, he pointed again at the Death Note. "You can only see me because you touched that notebook. If a human doesn't touch the Death Note, they can't see the Shinigami that possesses it."

"That's good to know. Still…" Sam looked at his watch, "I want to know more about this notebook when I get back." He ran downstairs and grabbed several apples under the suspicious gaze of his mother then returned to his room.

* * *

"No wonder you dropped the Death Note into the human world. I'd be bored too." Sam told Ryuk as soon as the Death God had finished his explanation of the state of things in the Shinigami Realm.

Ryuk finished another apple and grinned at the boy, "Yeah, that's when all this started. I dropped the notebook into this world and five days later, we have Kira."

"You said, 'that's when all this started'. Do you mean the Kira's battle with L?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly?" Sam asked.

"I mean other stuff has been going on that you never heard about." Ryuk told him.

"Could you tell me?" Sam seemed to be pleading for this, hoping for more information about the person he admired most, Kira. When Ryuk didn't respond, Sam said, "I used to doubt Kira but for a while. I used to think he was evil, but when I saw how the world was becoming a better place, I thought maybe he was doing things for the betterment of mankind. Then some maniac murdered my parents." Sam lowered his head and spoke softly now, "Kira passed judgment on that man and then I saw how foolish I was being. I accepted Kira. But…" Sam paused and when he spoke again, Ryuk had to draw closer to hear him. "A while back, someone very important to me was kidnapped. The people who did it were never captured but when she returned, she just wasn't the same, traumatized by the whole experience.

"The whole family was good friends with my own family for years. I've known her for over six years. When they moved away, it was pretty hard for me. I've always wanted to get back at those who caused so much pain. On top of that, her father died shortly after. They sent a letter, I never got all the details but what I could gather, he was definitely murdered. If I can help Kira get rid of people who cause tragedies like this, I can truly be happy. But I can't help if I don't get the whole picture. Please Ryuk."

Ryuk stared at Sam for a few seconds before saying simply, "L is dead."

"…I know."

"Wha...huh?" Ryuk gawked in amazement at the teen.

"It was in that broadcast. The guy said, 'I'm not as soft as L or Near. When I find out who you are, I will kill you.' Anyone could deduce from that that L is out of the picture, most likely that he's even dead. I bet Kira has even taken over as the new L. I've noticed that L hasn't really been all that efficient for quite a while. I'd judge that he's been gone for over five years, right?" Sam explained. "But that doesn't explain who Near is. Any insight would be helpful…"

'_Wow, he's a lot more like Light than I expected. I'd better keep an eye on this one…_' Ryuk thought. "Sorry, but everything else is for later. For now, it's important that you know that I'm not on your side or against you. There's no cost for using the Death Note, only the terror or torment you might feel for killing another human being." Ryuk looked Sam right in the eyes; Sam saw his own scared reflection in Ryuk's dark orange ones.

"Also, don't think any human who uses the Death Note can neither go to Heaven of Hell."

* * *

Early the next morning Sam Pyro, and his invisible companion Ryuk, set out on their journey. At 11:30 Sam and Ryuk boarded a train headed north. During most of the ride, Sam had asked several questions about the Death Note like, if he tore a page from the notebook, would it still have the same effects the notebook itself? Pretty soon he built up a pretty good understanding of the Death Note and its workings. He understood that once a human's name was written into the notebook, their death was inevitable. He could use its powers without pulling out the notebook itself, change the way someone died after it had already been written in(provided it was within the allotted six minutes, forty seconds), and knew the limits of its power.

"So you won't tell me anything?" Sam asked for the umpteenth time.

"Nope, I told you, I'm just acting as a spectator for now. You won't get any help outta me." Ryuk replied with a grin.

"Then I take it my sob story last night had no effect on you?"

"Sob story? That was all made up?"

"Nah, that was all real. I just gave you the dramatic version." Sam smiled.

"Nice try but I don't have 'sucker' tattooed on my forehead." Ryuk said and chuckled. "So where are we going anyway? You take this long trip so close to your finals like this…seems like you don't even care."

"I'll tell you what. If you tell me about this Near guy, I'll tell you where we're going." Sam told him.

"Sorry, no deal." Ryuk grinned.

"No go, huh? We're going to visit a dear friend of mine. I haven't seen her in months." Sam relented, "The girl I was telling you about last night. Her mom thought it might do her some good to see a familiar face."

"Another girl? You're pretty popular."

"You mean Ginko? We're just friends."

"That's not how she was acting last night." Ryuk chuckled.

"She can draw her own conclusions from our relationship. It's just that I'd rather go out with her than study. But it was never like that with Sayu." The teen said in a definite tone.

"Sayu?" Ryuk's eyes widened but he caught himself in time. Sam turned to the Shinigami as he recomposed his face. "Yeah, the girl we're I'm going to see."

'_Sayu? Light's sister? This could all be some big coincidence, but didn't he mention how this girl was kidnapped and her father died? Could that be Soichiro Yagami? Could this really the same person? Did Light plan this?_' Ryuk thought.

* * *

When the pair arrived in the station, Sam hailed a taxi and caught a ride out to the country side. Finally, he reached his destination: a log cabin located a couple of miles outside of the nearest town. Sam paid the driver, gathered his luggage in both arms, and walked up to the front door.

"So this is it, huh?" Ryuk asked.

"Yep…"

"Aren't you going to knock?" Ryuk asked after a few seconds.

Sam scowled at the Shinigami, "I'm nervous okay? I haven't seen Sayu or Sachiko in while." He raised his arm to knock, hesitated for a second, stood up a little straighter, and then knocked firmly…

* * *

A/N: Sorry, if this one feels a little short, but it was mostly meant to be an intro chapter for Sam. I'll try to increase the length of the chapters later (maybe). In the next chapter we'll learn a little bit more about why Light chose Sam to become the newest Kira, and the plan that Pride and the others have been working on. Until next time, later! 


End file.
